


Golden World: Thedas

by Lonyn



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 04:49:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10779915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonyn/pseuds/Lonyn
Summary: After the events of the final push for Meridian, Emun Ryder finds herself accepting a mission from the new director of Colonial Affairs, Cullen Rutherford, to scope out a new, mysterious Golden World found on the edge of the system: Thedas. After crash landing on the planet with no way off, Emun must figure out a way to make the skies safe for passage and finds herself trying to fix a blight.





	Golden World: Thedas

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by an Anon on Tumblr for a four line word prompt involving Cullen and Emun, and it turned into this. Maybe it'll go somewhere, but I figured I'd post it to see if anyone was interested! (: It threw me off, but I totally got into the idea! This was the prompt:  
> “You need to go.” for Cullen x Emun (aka: we found a golden world but it was already occupied; the locals call it 'Thedas')

            Emun groaned as she looked down at her emails. Cullen was being particularly demanding lately. Ever since he was put in charge of establishing outposts over Addison he had been sending their Pathfinder teams on numerous missions.

            On the one hand she didn’t mind, she was an explorer however, but on the other, since landing Ark Hyperion on Meridian, and waking up to be congratulated, it’d been nonstop mission after mission.

            She had cringed when Cullen Rutherford showed up. He was Alliance, N7, and he would’ve been her training officer in the N7 program if she hadn’t been shunned out of it because of her father. She assumed he was here because he probably trained underneath her father at some point and she wouldn’t have put it past him to have coaxed Cullen into joining the Initiative.

            At some point since being woken out of cryo he’d managed to make himself quite capable and Addison got the boot and he was next in line. She wondered why he hadn’t been woken up before, but if she had to deal with Cullen barking orders at her throughout this whole ordeal she didn’t know if she would’ve been able to stand it.

            She couldn’t deny she’d thought he was handsome. She probably shouldn’t have, he was at least ten years older than her, but maybe that was part of the appeal. She wasn’t as flustered around him as she had been with Reyes, but it was different with Cullen. Despite his sometimes gruff demeanor, she related to him on the work ethic. Both of them were solidly settled into their jobs, and there wasn’t much room for fun.

            Since things had ended badly between she and Reyes, she’d immersed herself into the job, but admittedly she was growing tired. She didn’t want to be idle and think about what kind of mess that had been, but she wanted some down time to herself.  She read Cullen’s email, something about a new golden world that demanded their immediate attention. She rolled her eyes, they all demanded their immediate attention, so why was this one any different?

            When they’d docked at the Nexus she made her way to his new office, and saw he was immersed in multiple data pads at his desk, looking them over with a furrow to his brow.

            “Ah, Pathfinder,” he eased up, “it’s good to see you.” He spoke, and she stopped to stand in front of his desk. His golden curls were neatly slicked back, and his amber eyes glanced up at her. She could see the soft pull of the scar at his lips, and the day-old stubble he acquired. Damn… He really did look good, filling out the Initiative uniform better than anyone she’d seen so far, and she had a moment’s thought about what it’d be like to bed the man. She shook that from her thoughts, it wasn’t as if she’d ever ask him that, there would be no way, but she couldn’t deny she found him attractive.

            “You said this was urgent.” She said, trying to be professional despite her wandering thoughts.

            “Yes, we’ve found a new golden world, however it’s already occupied. By humans and a few other interesting races.”

            “More exiles?”

            “No. We don’t know the manner in which this happened. We’ve got scientists who’ve scanned the planet and have been studying what they’ve been able to gather from those scans. The people here haven’t left this planet since they got here, and it doesn’t seem like they have means of space travel. Some are beginning to theorize Prothean intervention despite no signs of Protheans here. There might be something funny about the atmosphere of their planet. They haven’t been able to pin down what it is yet.”

            “So what’s the catch? What’s wrong with this place?”

            “Our researchers keep coming up with the same word; blight. The locals speak of it often, creatures that infect you if you’re tainted by them. There’s a section of this planet that seems to be nothing but darkness, fire, and ash.”

            She raised a brow, “You want me to go down to a planet that has a possible disease and make contact?”

            He furrowed his brow, “I wouldn’t be asking if Tann didn’t give me an ultimatum. Send a team or get a new job. There’s a resource there that he wants us to study. A possible fuel source.”

            “So what, just ply us with medigel and hope for the best?”

            He grumbled, “Something like that… Look, Emun—er Pathfinder, I don’t want to send you down there… I… I do care about what happens to you. I mean, not in _that_ way of course not, that would be highly inappropriate. Maker’s breath,” He swore, and she watched him sweep his hand over the back of his neck. It was odd to see the man flustered. “Alec told me that I should look out for you whenever I was woken up. I imagine that was supposed to be sooner rather than when it actually occurred. I don’t want to send you there, but I have no choice. Tann is also threatening to take the Pathfinder position away from you as well.”

            “Why am I not surprised.” She sighed.

            “Well, I did get an earful about your insubordination a time or two. Addison also angrily yelled about not having to deal with you any longer when she was removed from her post.”

            She smirked, “She never liked me.”

            He chuckled a little, “I find that hard to believe. You’ve always been lovely—I mean you’ve been easy… _Easy to work with_.” He groaned. “Anyway,” he quickly waved his hand. “I think it’s best if we send a shuttle down rather than landing the Tempest. I don’t want to chance her with what’s going on in the atmosphere. Maybe a smaller vessel will have a better chance.”

            “Fine. Anything else I need to know?”

            “None that I can think of. You need to go. Soon.” He told her, and she nodded. “Oh, and, Pathfinder… Please… Be careful. I would hate to lose you.” She saw him curse lightly to himself once more and she softly chuckled herself.

            “Thanks, Cullen. I’ll be in touch.”

 

\---

 

            “So, Tann’s got Cullen’s balls in a vice, yeah?” Liam chuckled as they suited up in their shuttle. Shannon was going to take the helm, and admittedly she was only a tinny bit nervous about that. “Ey, Shanny, when’s the last time you piloted a shuttle again?”

            “Pilot school?” Shannon responded.

            “You were there for a month before you transferred.” Emun said.

            “Wait a minute, didn’t you say you were there a year?” Liam shot back, a little panic touching his voice.

            Shannon was adjusting the controls, belting himself in once he was suited up in his armor. “You know what, no one else wanted to be the first ones on this planet, and no one else was willing to pilot the shuttle. It’ll be fine, it’s like riding a bike.”

            “You never learned to ride a bike.” Emun pointed out, and he glared back at his twin.

            “Sis, this isn’t helping.” Shannon said, cracking his knuckles as he flipped some switches. He was muttering to himself, and she cracked a smile. She knew he actually had been doing well in training school after the Alliance had assigned him there. He was just bored with it, not wanting to be a shuttle pilot on a big ship, but rather a soldier on the front lines with her. They didn’t like to be split from each other, but Shannon always seemed to take it the hardest.

            “You’ll do fine, Shan.” She placed a hand on his shoulder knowing he was a little nervous. “I trust you.”

            “Pfft, I dunno if I do.” Liam said, plunking himself down into a seat in the back to strap himself in. She sat in the co-pilot’s seat, and they got the green light to launch the shuttle out of the Tempest.

            “So we’re the only ones daft enough to go down to this possibly diseased planet with scary shit coming out of the ground?” Shannon spoke, easing the shuttle out of the hangar. He was going slow, and talking seemed to help ease his nerves.

            _“You are a bunch of crazy British bastards.”_ Gil’s voice came over the comms.

            “Shut it, Gil, you’re a Brit too.” Liam said.

            _“Yeah, but at least I’m not daft like you three.”_

            “He’s got a point,” Shannon mumbled. “Alright, taking her out.” Emun looked ahead watching as they descended closer into the pull of the atmosphere. She couldn’t make out anything beyond the cloud coverage just yet, but she had a bad feeling.

            Her unease was confirmed when they began to hit turbulence, and everything happened so fast. The alerts began to go off, ringing loudly, and she could hear Liam yelling in the back about what the hell was going on.

            “I don’t know!” Shannon said. “There’s something attacking the ship!”

            _“Ryder, there is something in the atmosphere, I believe it may be the scourge.”_ SAM told her.

            “Put your helmets on!” She yelled to the others. “SAM, why didn’t we detect this before?”

            _“Unknown, but I’m also detecting a living presence in the air.”_

            “It’s not going to matter if the fucking scourge eats the goddamned shuttle!” Shannon shouted.

            It was true, the shuttle was slowly being eaten away, and the system was beginning to shut down. Her heart was pounding, flashbacks of the shuttle crashing on Habitat 7 entering her thoughts.

            “Not again!” She heard Liam say, and that’s when the sky opened up, the shuttle falling faster, and a living, breathing dragon entered her vision. She thought she was dreaming. She had to be.

            “What the fuck? A dragon?” Shannon breathed, but it was too late. The massive beast slammed into their shuttle, effectively breaking it to pieces. She was falling again, but she had the wherewithal to alert the others to use their jump jets to try and ease their descent.

            She lost sight of them, careening towards a mountain top and she kept tapping her jets, hoping it didn’t break mid fall, and trying not to strain it too badly. She let out a yell as she was getting closer, putting the jets on full throttle and she crash landed with a hard thud and found the darkness entering her vision.

            When she woke up, everything hurt, her back, head, nothing was short of throbbing as she attempted to move her limbs. She found she was without her helmet, beginning to panic at its removal, but found she was breathing clean air.

            “Hey, hey, calm down. You’re safe.” A voice entered her ears, unfamiliar, but she saw his face come into her vision. His hair was short, sandy brown, tanned freckled face and honey brown eyes. He was wearing furs and leathers, on his broad physique and she noticed the snow falling around his face.

            “Where’s my brother?” She immediately asked, sitting up and feeling her head spin. “Where’s Liam?”

            “I… I don’t know, you’re the only one I saw that fell from the sky.” He answered her.

            She shook her head. “Where am I?”

            “The Frostbacks in Ferelden,” he shrugged, “I’m going to assume you’re not from around these parts. You’re dressed a little funny even for Orlais’s standards. I’ve never seen clothes like that before.”

            She looked down at her armor, and looked over at him. His style of clothing was almost akin to that of the middle ages. “How did you get here?”

            He furrowed his brow. “I walked? Rode a horse for a little bit, but he got tired, so he left me.”

            “I don’t believe this,” She muttered to herself.

            “I know! I couldn’t believe it either.” He grinned, and she scoffed, trying not to laugh at his light attitude, but he was easing her panic just slightly.

            “I mean how’d you get on this planet?”

            “You’re _really_ not from around here, are you?” He asked slowly.

            “No, I’m not.” She answered him, shaking her head. She held her hand out to him, trying to be better at this introduction thing. “Emun Ryder.”

            He took her hand in his. “Alistair Theirin.”

 

\---

 

            Cullen was at his desk, brows furrowed, and panic coursing throughout him. It’d been several days since they’d lost contact with Emun, Shannon, and Liam. Even SAM wasn’t able to communicate with her despite its insistence she was alive and well. He knew this was a bad idea, but he didn’t want to fail in this new opportunity. He’d failed too many times before to want to do that again.

            But he let Tann’s threats cloud his judgment and bad feelings. He knew he shouldn’t have risked sending Emun there, he cared about her well-being, more than he should like to admit, but he felt guilty for her predicament. She was stranded, possibly alone, and Tann wasn’t willing to send down a rescue party until Emun was able to make contact.

            “Let me in damn it! I demand to see that bastard!” He looked up at the raucous near his secretary’s post. He recognized that voice, he’d seen the man only a handful of times since his post on the Nexus and he was informed of who the man really was on the basis that he kept his identity a secret. It was Reyes Vidal, the Charlatan himself, and he knew the reason why the man was here. He heard that he and Emun had a thing, emphasis on had, and he figured the man must’ve found out about what happened.

            “You fucking bastard,” he growled as he stepped in front of his desk. Cullen immediately rose to face him, glaring at the fiery man. “How could you send her to that place?”

            Cullen shook his head, unsure of what to say when Reyes reached over the desk to grab him by the shirt.

            “Answer me damn it!” He growled, “Or you will have hell to pay, I promise you that!”

            He wrenched his fingers from his shirt, pushing him back. “I’m not going to tolerate your threats!” Cullen shouted. “I’m just as worried about her as you are.”

            “Like hell you are!” Reyes said, beginning to pace, trying to keep himself from lunging towards him once more. “Why is no one going down there? Why haven’t we sent a rescue party?”

            “Tann has ordered—”

            “Fuck what Tann has ordered, Rutherford! You send someone down there, or else I’m going down there myself!”

            “That would be unwise,” They turned to see Tann speak as he made his way into the office. “Though I do agree that it’s imperative we extract the Pathfinder and her crew mates if they’re still alive, right now our hands are tied. The scourge is buried within parts of their atmosphere, seeking out objects that enter, and there’s another matter. Their shuttle didn’t just break apart due to the scourge. A dragon attacked their shuttle.”

            “What the… Are you insane, Tann?” Reyes raised a brow. “You expect me to believe a dragon flew out of nowhere and attacked them?”

            “That’s what the Tempest reported. Shannon’s final word.”

            Cullen shook his head, just as unbelieving as Reyes was. “You sent her there,” Reyes growled at Tann. “I’m going to find her if none of you will get off your asses to do so!”

            “That would be unwise, Charlatan. Kadara still needs you. If you leave and are killed, what will happen to your planet?”

            Cullen watched the turmoil on Reyes’s face. He’d heard they had broken up, but he could see the man still cared a great deal for her. “Reyes, perhaps we need to assess the situation,” Cullen spoke, trying to be the better man though he was still fuming inside about the way Reyes approached this.

            He let out the breath he was holding. “We need to clear the skies…” He muttered.

            “Yes. Let’s not rush in before we know what we’re dealing with.”

            He saw his brows furrow. “That wasn’t the same courtesy that Emun was given.” He stormed out of his office, and Cullen couldn’t help but agree with Reyes. It was an ultimatum, and he sent daggers Tann’s way.

            “Leave,” he barked at the Salarian. “You need to find me a solution.” He growled, and Tann left without a word spoken to his face. He could hear him muttering to himself on the way out, and Cullen slumped in his seat.

            How could he do this? How could he force her to go to this world when they had so little to go off on? He felt guilty, and he knew he had to make this right.


End file.
